Department Information

About the Profession of Respiratory Therapy

If you enjoy working
in a fast-paced environment where your technical
and scientific responsibilities will be matched
by a real need for human relations skills, the
profession of Respiratory Therapy may be the
career you are seeking. Respiratory Therapy is a
health care specialty that offers a set of
unique challenges in the areas of prevention,
treatment, management, and rehabilitation of
people with diseases of the lungs and
cardiovascular system.

As a Respiratory Care
Practitioner, you will be involved in a wide
variety of life-saving and life supporting
situations. You will work side by side with
physicians, nurses, and other on the health care
team, treating patients ranging in age from
newborns to senior citizens. Your expertise will
be in demand, and opportunities to expand your
knowledge and skills will be great.

Respiratory Care Practitioners
are respected members of the medical community,
and face the constant challenges of working in a
health care profession. As a member of this
dynamic profession, you will be a witness to
some of the best adventures and discoveries in
health care, and the same time, develop a solid
career that will take you as far as your
ambition dictates.

The work of Respiratory Care
Practitioners in hospitals is under the
direction of qualified physicians and frequently
involves the administration of daily treatments
to a variety of patients. Using sophisticated
medical equipment, they help people with such
disorders as asthma, emphysema, pneumonia, and
bronchitis. As practitioner, coach, and friend
you use a personal approach to help these
patients get the most out of the therapy that
their doctors have ordered.

Respiratory Care practitioners
also work as members of the critical care team
in treating individuals who are seriously ill.
This will include using equipment that will
mechanically breath for the patient. With the
assistance of sophisticated monitoring devices
and techniques, you give around-the-clock care
to individuals who otherwise would not be able
to survive life-threatening conditions ranging
from sever head trauma to chest wounds.

Other Respiratory Care
Practitioners spend all or part of their time
working in pulmonary laboratories where they
help evaluate various cardiopulmonary diseases.
By measuring lung volumes or administrating
gases or aerosols, they assist the physician in
determining the type and extent of the patient's
disease, as well as how well the therapy
prescribed is working. Regarded as experts in
the respiratory and cardiac systems, Respiratory
Care Practitioners are often called upon to
offer advice and help in deciding which course
of care to prescribe.

Part of an ever-changing
profession, Respiratory Care Practitioners are
also beginning to specialize in particular areas
of pulmonary care. There is an increasing demand
for therapist in the areas of newborn care,
pediatrics, home care, cardiopulmonary
technology, and health education and management.
Many practitioners find themselves working
full-time in these specialty areas that offer
many opportunities for advancement.

A Bright Future

You will find many employment
opportunities in the field. The profession has
grown so quickly since its inception in the late
1940's, that demand for manpower has exceeded
supply making the Respiratory Care
Practitioner's talents a precious commodity in
most medical institutions. In addition, many
clinics, nursing homes, and home care programs
are beginning to realize the potential benefits
of having a trained Respiratory Care
Practitioner on staff. Coupled with the
ever-increasing number of cardiopulmonary
disorders being diagnosed, these demands ensure
that individuals who enter the profession will
enjoy good career opportunities. By offering an
exciting and challenging working environment,
solid career opportunities, and a real chance to
help others, Respiratory Care is indeed "A
Profession for Now and the Future."